A transcript is a retrospective written record of dialogue, and like a script (a prospective record) may include other scene information such as props or actions. In the case of a transcript of a film or television episode, ideally it is a verbatim record. Because closed-captioning is usually written separately, its text may have errors and does not necessarily reflect the true Canonical transcript.

Transcripts for Lost episodes up to and including "Enter 77" are based on the transcriptions by Lost-TV member Spooky with aid of DVR, and at times, closed captions for clarification. She and Lost-TV have generously granted us permission to share/host these transcripts at Lostpedia. Later transcripts were created by the Lostpedia community, unless stated otherwise below.

Disclaimer: This transcript is intended for educational and promotional purposes only, and may not be reproduced commercially without permission from ABC. The description contained herein represents viewers' secondhand experience of ABC's Lost.

[opening Lost theme]

Kris White: Hello and welcome back to the Official Lost Podcast. It's been awhile since we've posted, so we have lots of goodies for everyone. As they say, secrets are revealed. Well, not really, but they're definitely talked about. First up, we have a special interview with executive producer Bryan Burk, and later we bring you the wonder twins of writing, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who look as much like each other as Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I won't say which is which -- you figure it out. They'll be taking more fan questions, queries, and strange looks as they give us hint after scintillating hint for the upcoming episode, "The Whole Truth," which airs Wednesday, March 22, from 9 to 10 pm Eastern.

[soundtrack music]

Kris White: These days Bryan Burk plays an integral role in ushering Lost through its final post-production phase, including overseeing those oft talked about Easter eggs, like the plane that was seen, or not seen, in the episode "Fire Plus Water." However, Burk -- or Burky, as he's known after a few drinks -- has been with the show since its inception. In fact, he's old school. Like Adam Sandler, Billy Madison old school. As we learned, Burk has been rolling with the Bad Robot crowd since the early days of Alias.

Bryan Burk: Well, I started working with Bad Robot and J.J. on the show Alias in the first season. I'd actually known J.J. for a while but purely socially, and we'd been friends for years, but we never worked together until the first season of Alias when he was about halfway through the season had- was spending an inordinate amount of time in the editing room and not enough time in the writers' room. And the process of doing a show requires, you know, breaking new ideas and working with all the writers, and then at the end of the day, he would have to start putting together the shows as they would come in after the director's cuts were done. And he just didn't have enough time to do that. Usually it's the directing producer who does that, who's Ken Olin, still is Ken Olin. The problem is that Ken was off directing, you know, a good percentage of the episodes, which left him unable to be in the editing room as well, so J.J. asked if I would come in and help out in the editing room. So that's how I started on Alias, and I was there for- since the middle of the first season, and then when Lost came about, it was just us.

Kris White: Even though the first DVD details those first few hours of Lost's creation, hearing it told from Burk, well that's just cool. Specifically when it came time to cast the character of Kate.

Bryan Burk: The Kate character was an interesting situation because, you know, we've said many times the character of Jack died at the end of the first act, or the end of the second act, and it was gonna become Kate's journey by the end of the pilot, and she was gonna take control. So it was really kind of a really crucial role. And we had met some incredible actresses who had come in over the course of casting this, and we'd seen well over a hundred actresses who came in, which means our casting director sifts through hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. And we got two tapes from Canada that had come in, and one of them was this great actress who works a lot and was very good, and another tape -- she was really great on the tape -- and then the other tape was this girl that none of us had ever heard of was Evangeline Lilly, and it was- I just remember watching the tape because it was at the end of the day, and we just had a casting session all day of, you know, dozens of people coming in, and we all went into this little room to watch this tape that April had, and when we saw Evangeline, we all thought she was really good. It was J.J. who said at the time, when she- after we watched the scene, he said, "No no no, she's really smart." It was something he saw in her performance that you could really see her process and how she was working. So we had decided to fly her- actually to fly both girls down from Canada and to meet with them in person. And we met with the first girl, who was great, who was just very professional, really good and really got the part, and then Evangeline came in to the room -- and if that was the only person, I would have thought that, you know, we found our Kate -- and then Evangeline walked in. And J.J. kept saying, you know, "You're gonna know. You're gonna know when she comes in." And, you know, I felt that with all of our other characters, and I kept thinking, well we've seen so many girls, and we had some favorites that we liked, and, you know, I kept, you know, thinking he was a little crazy. In any case, so in walks Evangeline, and she was great, like really really great, and I remember we were sitting in the room, and Damon was sitting next to me -- it was just Damon and I, and J.J was directing her, and Alyssa Weisberg, who was also casting with April and also did an incredible job was running the camera, was filming it -- and she came in and she did her performance, and she was spectacular, and I just remember Damon sliding me a piece of paper that said something to the effect of like "home run" or "this is our girl." We were literally like, you know, in junior high school and sliding each other paper about this girl and how incredible she was. And J.J. had asked her to put her hair back because her hair was like kind of covering her face a little bit, and she has very long hair, and the second she put back her hair, that was like the moment wh- oh my god, that's her, that's Kate. And he gave her some adjustments and she went back and did the scene perfectly and like no one else. It was like shocking, and it was like oh yeah, he's right, you'll know it when you see her, and there she was.

Kris White: Because the show was being written simultaneous to its casting, hence the reason they thought Jack might not make it during Evangeline's casting session, not all the characters were written, as was the case for the character Sun.

Bryan Burk: All the characters on the show in its formation kind of came out of Damon and J.J.'s head, and then what happens is we kind of find the actors that work for it, and then, you know, more or less they start adapting. However, in the case of Yunjin, for example, like we knew there was gonna be- it was an international flight and that there would be characters who didn't speak English. And Yunjin came in first. She was the first person in the cast, and she came in to read for Kate -- that was the only part we had written at the time -- and was our first person. She came in, and we immediately fell in love with her and said okay she's on the show, and the couple would be Korean who doesn't speak English. And, you know, in certain cases obviously and same thing with Charlie, like we had an idea of what the character would be, but we conformed it to the actor.

Kris White: Casting stories aside, we decided to ask Bryan the big questions: What's with all the Easter eggs? Though we framed it a little better than that.

Bryan Burk: I think our first Easter egg came from us- came from J.J. and I, which was in the pilot episode, part 2 of the pilot episode when we put the Black- when we decided to have the French woman mention the Black Rock in the radio transmission, even though Shannon never translates it. She's talking about, I'm gonna try and make it to the Black Rock, which we're very excited about, that in the very first episode we mentioned the location that they end up going to in the very last episode. So, you know, it's fun for us obviously to put things in. Often, you know, we think they're just for us, and there's plenty of them that people haven't found. A lot of them, they never were really intended to become, you know, to cross over to the mainstream. We always thought that people would pick up on them, and they would talk about it on the Internet, and when we were doing the season- when we had Walt talking backwards, we thought maybe, you know -- Damon, you know, it was actually Damon's idea for it to be backwards -- and we had thought maybe a couple thousand people would pick up on it, you know, would take the time to play it backwards, and the day after it aired, we got numerous calls from people all across the country who had heard it played forwards on radio stations, and that wasn't obviously what we were thinking, and all the sudden everybody was picking up on our Easter eggs, which in some cases made it more difficult in the editing room because, you know, often to make things work you'll flop shots, which means like turn them around just to make them work. But, you know, sometimes shirts will be backwards or something like that, something you would never notice, but because of a show where people are looking for Easter eggs, it tends to be bizarre because people will pick up on things that aren't Easter eggs, so we have to be extra careful not to put things on 'cause, you know, we're not- we don't put anything in that we don't know answers to or why they're there.

Kris White: That's it for now. Next week, we continue our interview with actor Jorge Garcia as he recounts some of his toughest scenes to shoot this season. Now though, we turn it over to executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

Carlton Cuse: Would have to think about that, exactly. And on that subject, we will be getting to these fabulous questions a little bit later, but one of the questions that keeps getting asked over and over is the issue of why are there so many reruns and-

Damon Lindelof: Usually that question is accompanied with a threat. [Carlton laughs] It's sort of like, "I will kill you guys -- why are there so many reruns?" or "I'm going to stop watching the show" is a popular sort of-

Damon Lindelof: That has nothing to do with a throw though, just- we're all entitled to our quirks.

Carlton Cuse: Anyway, all right, let's try to address this rerun issue. Basically, the thing is is that we only can- it takes us about three weeks to a month to make an episode of the show, and basically we work pretty much around- we work pretty much year round on the show, but by the time we actually write the episodes, produce the episodes, do all the post-production of the episodes, we physically cannot produce more than 22 to 24 episodes a season. This year we're doing 24, and we are killing ourselves to actually accomplish making 24 hours of the show. The problem is there are 52 weeks in the year, and the network business works in, you know, its own mysterious ways, but they have certain periods when they really need to have original episodes. One is at the beginning of the season, when they're launching new shows, and because Lost is successful, they want the ratings of the show to launch a show behind it. Then there are three sweeps periods, which really matter to the networks because that's when ratings are measured on a much more intensive level, and they use those ratings to set advertising rates, and since, you know, this is a business about making money, they wanna get the most ratings that they can during sweeps.

Damon Lindelof: As opposed to a business about losing money, [Carlton laughs] which is- that's another way to go but not as effective.

Carlton Cuse: So basically the show has to be on at the beginning of the season. It has to be on during November for November sweeps. It has to be on in February for February sweeps, and it has to be on in May for May sweeps. And so as a result, the 22 episodes get scattered across those four periods, and that whole- you know, I think the whole TV schedule is like 36 weeks or something like that and-

Damon Lindelof: And it gets very frustrating, and I think, you know, more importantly, the season catches up with you.

Damon Lindelof: That is to say, you know, right now, at the time of us doing this podcast, we are basically writing the final three episodes, three- four hours of the show, the last three episodes, but production is right up against us, so, you know, we are-

Carlton Cuse: We're gonna be shooting the last three hours simultaneously with three different crews in order to get those episodes on the air by May sweeps.

Damon Lindelof: We're delivering the episodes wet, which is, you know, the best we can do, which is why you probably see shows like 24, which premiere- they can do a consecutive run 'cause they start in January as opposed to September when Lost starts, but 24 is at the same- they're writing the show at the same rate that we are, so essentially all of us are cramming in the end stages.

Carlton Cuse: And so when you say delivering the show wet -- 'cause that's kind of a
really cool technical thing -- what is- what are you referring to, Damon?

Damon Lindelof: Well, you know, I mean it's like if you took a test, and you handed it in. It's like the ink on your test is still drying. So we actually shoot these things on film, and you have to process them in a dark room. And you just, you know, I think that the idea of like wow, the film is still wet, you know, we- they just got it from the developer -- 'cause sometimes, and we're not joking-

Damon Lindelof: You're probably completely bored right now. But, you know, we have an awesome associate producer in the post production crew named Tamara Isaac, and she- it's her job to run over the final final of Lost over to where it's gonna be aired out of on a Wednesday, and sometimes she gets that, you know, that cassette or that DVD or whatever it is that she has -- it's big.

Carlton Cuse: One of the things that we did do in this episode, which was cool, was we actually did flashbacks, but we didn't flashback to the character's past off the island. We flashed back to a character's past on the island, and that was new.

Damon Lindelof: That was new, and it was very cool, you know, I think that the subject of Claire's missing time has been something that people were very interested in and gave us sort of an opportunity to use the flashback device in order to sort of advance island mythology, which is something that we love to do when we can. And, you know, obviously a lot of our flashbacks are sort of centered around the airport, and, you know, so it's not the first time that we've sort of done flashbacks starting- the Lost story really doesn't start with the crash. It starts with sort of everybody gathering at the Sydney airport, and by the end of Season 1, we'd actually told that entire story. So, you know, it wasn't completely outside of the box, but at the same time, you know, just seeing pure island stuff was very cool. And obviously Emilie was awesome, but, you know, it was also great to see William Mapother again on the show.

Carlton Cuse: It is. I mean what's really fun is to actually have a character back who is dead but isn't really dead, you know. I mean, we're not doing, you know, the false resurrection of these guys. We're actually just going back to
past chapters in their lives.

Damon Lindelof: Yeah, one of things we like to pride ourselves on the show -- for whatever it's worth 'cause there's a lot of things not to be proud of, like Carlton's throw [Carlton chuckles] -- is that, you know, when someone dies on Lost, they're dead, and that's really it, like we're not trying to be sneaky, and they're gonna come back as a zombie, or, you know- Hopefully, you will learn over time as an audience that when someone buys the farm-

Damon Lindelof: I am. I am really gonna regret that. You know, year 7 is actually, the subtitle is "Lost: Zombies." [Carlton chuckles] And it's just everybody who we've killed off over the years coming back and trying to eat brains.

Damon Lindelof: Now you guys will all go out into the world and say, "Don't be so hard on those guys over at Lost. There's a very good reason they're in reruns. See there's three periods called sweeps." [Carlton laughs] You know, but in any case-

Damon Lindelof: It's not really quite a question, but we're just- it's part of the rehash, and I think it's an interesting story point in that episode.

Carlton Cuse: It was just something that we thought was incredibly cool. I mean- and he had two little knots on his beard there, and he had killed two people earlier in "The Other 48 Days," and perhaps there would be a connection to the fact that he cut off those two knots and that that was related to the two people he killed and was doing penance over by not speaking for 40 days.

Damon Lindelof: What's really interesting on the show is things like that happen, and we leave it up- you know, we have an idea, exactly like Carlton said of what it might symbolize, but that doesn't mean that Adewale has the same idea as he's playing the scene, and that doesn't mean that Michael Emerson has the same idea as he's responding to that action. And most importantly and most excitingly, you as fans can sort of take that gesture for what it is and instead of us telling you here's why he's doing it, actually make the character say I'm cutting off these two knots because I killed two men, we actually sort of leave it in a fairly vague space. And it's that interactivity, the ability for you guys -- and gals, all three of you who are listening to the podcast -- to enjoy the, you know, the sort of imag- you know, to active your own imaginations as you watch the show 'cause chances are you'll think of something ten times better than we'd ever come up with.

Carlton Cuse: All right, so let's do a little preview on "The Whole Truth." That's coming up. In general, what can we expect from this episode, Damon? Whose story is it? And what hints, if any, do you want to tease the audience with?

Damon Lindelof: Well Carlton... It felt so natural, the way you delivered that, as if you weren't-

Damon Lindelof: Which is awesome, and obviously the audience is hungry for more Sun and Jin because they are the only real husband and wife on the island prior to Bernard and Rose's arrival and-

Carlton Cuse: We think it's actually one of the best episodes of television you'll ever read.

Damon Lindelof: Yeah, exactly because it's subtitled wall to wall, you know, one of the things that we're especially proud of in this episode is that the entire teaser, the first five minutes of the show are entirely in Korean.

Damon Lindelof: That is how we roll. And obviously I think it speaks to Yunjin and Daniel's sort of acting abilities that they are so capable in portraying these sort of deep emotional lives [phone rings] of these characters in an entirely different language. This is the first time the phone has ever run during a podcast. [Carlton chuckles] It's sort of astonishing.

Damon Lindelof: And that's gonna be sort of coming out in this episode, and obviously also we're gonna be learning a little bit more about our friend Henry Gale, who may or may not be an Other.

Carlton Cuse: That's right. And, you know, it's kind of I think a nice emotional episode. It's a little warmer. We have been doing some episodes that are a little darker and a little bit more minor key. And this episode is, you know, one that we really like. I think it has a really nice- it has a nice more emotional kind of story that it tells.

Damon Lindelof: Would you say it's warmer than the throw [Carlton chuckles] wrapped around your legs right now or cooler?

Damon Lindelof: 126. S-a-x. "Where did all the tarps come from? We saw Jack helping Ana Lucia build her tent with a tarp. Hurley helps Libby to put her tent up with a tarp. And Sawyer's is made out of a tarp. How many tarps are there on the Island?"

Carlton Cuse: HappySaxTarp, um, thank you for your question. You know, big planes like Oceanic 815 not only carry passengers, they carry a lot of freight. There's these big metal containers in the bottom of the plane that are transporting things from Australia to the United States like boomerangs. And assumedly there was a container of tarps. You know, Australia is actually known as a country which produces tarps-

Carlton Cuse: So, anyway, uh, yes. Aranis, aranis! That's probably how you pronounce it. 123. Damon, "Since finding the hatch, does anyone still live in the caves, or are they all back on the beach, and if so, why?"

Damon Lindelof: Well, that's a good question, Aranis, if that is in fact the way your name is pronounced. Essentially, you know, this season, our group of castaways began to sort of realize, "Hey, we might be here for a while." And they've actually started building more permanent shelters -- as you have been watching the show, hopefully, you've been realizing -- on the beach, which is actually a much sort of safer and better place to live than the caves. But then also the hatch sort of offered all the, you know, if they were in a security situation where they needed to be protected or safe, they could all sort of pile in there. So we as story tellers basically said instead dividing the camp up into threes, you know, a group of people in the hatch, a group of people in the caves, and a group people at the beach, we just felt it behooved us to nail it down to two. And the caves were kind of depressing anyway. I mean I always got depressed when we were there.

Damon Lindelof: Yeah, don't throw up on your legs. "MILK" is the subject heading, and it's by HOTFORBOONE, one word. "I WAS READING THAT IN THE EPISODE WHERE HARLEY [sic] HAS A DREAM, THERE IS A MILK CARTON WITH A PICTURE OF WALT ON IT. I GUESS YOU HAVE HAD THIS EPISODE THERE. HAS HE BEEN MISSING BEFORE OR WHAT'S THE STORY?"

Carlton Cuse: Um... Walt is missing -- there is no question about that, um... And thank you, that was actually very nicely done. There was a certain measure of, you know, volume and anger in your voice that-

Carlton Cuse: It did. Yeah, Walt is missing, and obviously, you know, the Walt situation is a big story point for the end of the season, and we'll be returning to that story line before the season is over. I mean, we are not going to- we're not gonna let the whole Michael/Walt situation drag on beyond the end of this season.

Damon Lindelof: I also think that sort of in your reading, 'cause you were reading it in this episode, when Harley [sic] has a dream, HotForBoone, that, you know, what sort of failed to get mentioned is that it is in fact a dream, so you know, it is-

Damon Lindelof: Sort of in the subconscious of the castaway sometimes information filters. Certainly Hurley doesn't know that Walt has been taken yet, which is probably what prompted your question, which makes it interesting as to how in his subconscious, there would be an Easter egg of Walt being gone, which is kind of cool because obviously the idea of dreams on the Island is going to become a little more prevalent in episodes to come.

Carlton Cuse: Yes, I think that's very well stated. All right, well, we're pretty much out of time for this podcast, but we-

Kris White: That's all the time we have for now, but be sure to join us next podcast when we present you guys with a new contest to choose a theme song for Damon and Carlton. That's right, they wanted it, and now you get to vote on it. Remember, you can also submit your own fan questions at lost.abc.com. "The Whole Truth" airs Wednesday, March 22 from 9 to 10pm only on ABC.